1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a composition containing an organogermanium compound and an immunity adjusting agent comprising the composition. The organogermanium compound is represented by the formula ##STR3## wherein n is an integer of 1 or more, R is hydrogen, alkyl, --COOH, --COOR', phenyl, ##STR4## and R' is a lower alkyl.
2. Related Arts
The organogermanium compound (polymer) represented by Formula I has been watched with great interest in recent years, due to attractive pharmacological activities thereof and thus various derivatives have been synthesized.
However, these organogermanium compounds as proposed have a common disadvantage of that it is not so stable to water. Namely, when such an organogermanium compound is prepared through a hydrolysis of trichlorogermylpropionic acid, some different organogermanium compounds will be formed, as disclosed in Examined Jap. Pat. Appln. Gazette Nos. 2498/1971 and 53800/1982 as well as Unexamined Jap. Pat. Appln. Gazette No. 102895/1982. It means a fact that a product will be made different, due to a slight difference in term or condition for the hydrolysis reaction. Therefore, such a possibility is to be estimated that a certain product may change into another product, when the former will be suspended or dissolved in water and a generation of this phenomenon has actually been reported (Examined Jap. Pat. Appln. Gazette Nos. 53800/1982 and 18399/1984).
The inventors have carefully studied on pharmacological activities of the various organogermanium compounds represented by said Formula I, which have been prepared by a common process but under a different synthetic condition, to find that each compound shows a remarkable difference in degree of the pharmacological activity. Now, it is, of course, required to obtain specific organogermanium compounds which show a high and stable pharmacological activity, for utilizing same as an effective component for a pharmaceutical agent. However, it has further been confirmed by the inventors on the compounds of Formula I and more particularly those, wherein all of the substituents R in the Formula is hydrogen, that a polymerization degree varies due to a slight difference in synthetic conditions therefor, that a form as the pharmaceutical agent is limited to a solid one only, since an intermolecular bond therein is easily severed or broken due to a slight change in environment or atmosphere, and that a stable appearance of pharmacological activities inherent to the compound can not be expected, since at least partial decomposition thereof occurs prior to reach to a desired absorption area in a living body.
Hitherto, a large number of reports to the effect that the organogermanium compounds in question have an immunity accerating action as one of those pharmacological actions has been issued, but each of such compounds has not only been employed for developing a pharmaceutical agent, due to its low stability and other difficulties but also been considered as a harmful substance to various diseases or disorders concerning to an immunity acceration system.
However, the inventors have now found through their various studies that the organogermanium compounds in question show great effectivity on various immunity disorders, namely both of the immunity inhibition system disorders and the immunity acceration system disorders and thus the "immunity accerating action" which has hithereto been reported and widely been accepted is not right and should be corrected to an--immunity adjusting or regulating action--.